MAKING THE CASE FOR FEDERALISM

Making the case for federalism | 2016

The United Kingdom is one of the most centralised countries in the world and it is also one of the most unequal. These two facts are interlinked. Of every £1 raised in taxation, 91 pence is controlled and allocated by central government - more than in any OECD country bar New Zealand. Meanwhile, inequality is at a historically high level. The richest 10% own more than half of all the wealth in the country.

These inequalities are regional in character; between urban and non-urban dwellers, and between the four nations which comprise the UK. A radical reconfiguration is required. This means the establishment of a federal settlement which addresses the population concentration in England by fragmenting it into eight region states, each more equal in population size to Scotland and Wales.